Building wall construction



Jan. 19, 1932. 'N. GARRE-r'r 1,842,348

BUILDING WALL coNsTnucTIoN cir-.igual Filed Dec. 18, 1926 2 sheets-sheet1 INVENTOR M ATTORNEYS .vvvvva ....vv y

Jan. 19, 1932. I N. GARRETT 1,842,348

' BUILDING WALL CONSTRUCTION Original Filed Deo. 18, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet2 l "9-I sa 26 ATTORNEY ff f l;

vrahmen Jan. 19, i932 fuulri-:D STATES 'PATENT oFFlcE NEAL GABRETT, FGLENDALE, CALIFORNIA .l BUILDING WLL CONSTRUCTION Original applicationled December 18, 1926. -Serial No.v15.5,699. Divided and thisapplication nled February 27, 19,28. Serial No. 257,357. RenewedDecember 15, 1930.

.My invention relatestobuilding walls and is a division of myapplication, Serial No.

` 155,699, liled December 18, 1926, and same has particular reference tothe types of inveng tions described and claimed in my co-pendingapplications Serial Nos. 17 0,377 iled February 23, 1927, and 561,395,filed September 5,

lit is a purpose of my invention to provide no a building wallconstruction, whereby permanent walls can be constructed of relativelythin layers of fireproof materials, thorou hly reinforced and Webbedtogether so as to ormA a structure which is' very substantial andpossesses a suflicient elasticity so as to allow it to bend or yieldwithout breaking or cracking in order that it may successfully resistearthquake shocks.

, l will describe various building walls and methods of making the same,and two forms l of apparatus, all .embodying my invention, and willthen, point out the novel features thereof in the claims. I In thedrawings, y Y

Fig. 1 is a view showing in top plan one form of wall-building apparatusembodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, horizontal, sectional `view showin one. formofl building 3o wall embodying my lnvention;

Fig. 3 is a vertical,-s`ectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.- 1,;

Fig. 4 is a vertical, sectional view taken on i .-5 is a agmentary, etai,perspective viewgof one of the forms embodied in the apparatus shown inFigs. 1 and3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, detail, perspective view of one of the aliningmembers embodied in the'apparatus;

Fig. 7 1s a view similar to Fig. 2, showing' another form of wallembodying my invention Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 showing athird form of wall embodying my invention;

Fig. 9 is avertical, sectional view taken 0n the line'9-9 of Fig'. 8.

Referring specifically to the drawings, and

particularly to Figs. 1 and 3, I .will describe an apparatus by whichthe wall embodying my invention can be produced, and this apparatus inthe present instance comprises a base 15 formed of any suitable materialand prefv erably having the cross-sectional contour of a, rectangle.Upon the upper side of this base f is a strip 16 of wood orother'suitable material provided for the purpose. of producing a. levelbasel upon which is adapted to be set a plurality of forms 17. Theseforms are arranged in upright position, with -their lower edges providedwith holes in which is r ceived the upper ends of pegs 18 secured wit inthe strip 16. In this manner the forms are held upon the base and inedge-to-edge relation,

as illustrated in Fig. 1, in orden to produce two form walls disposed inspaced, parallel relation. The forms 17 are placed upon the base so 'asto provide intervening gaps between'the vertical edges of any twoadjacent forms, ,with the vertical edges beveled, as in- `dicated at 19,for apurpose to be described hereinafter.

ln order to maintain the upper edges of the `formsV 17 in proper, spacedrelation and in longitudinal alinement so as to effectively vco-'operatewith the base pegs 18 in rigidly holding the forms in parallel, spacedrelation, I construct the upper edges of the formsl with upstandingAflanges 20, ofset with respect to the inner faces of the'forms so as 30to provide ledges on which alining members 21 arel seated. Thealiningunembers may be formed of wood of any lsuitable length,preferably of such length as to span a luralityof forms in the mannerillustrate in 35 Fig. 1. These members 21 are rigidly and c detachablysecured to the forms and to each other by means of pins 22 extendedthroughV openings 23 inthe members and through registering opening 24 inthe flanges 20. no

Nails or other suitable fastening 'members 25 are extended verticallythrough the members 21 and the pins 22, as illustratedin Fig. 3, for thepurpose of locking the members to the pins, so that thereby the aliningmembers are maintained contiguously to the flanges 20, and that thus theupper edges of the forms 17 will be rigidly held in longitudinalalinement and in proper, spaced relation to the other series of forms.

The apparatus set up, as just described, is now ready for applicationtheretoof reinforcing elements 26 which, in the present instance,consist of any suitable foraminous material, such asiwire mesh. Thesestrips or sheets of wire mesh are arranged at the outer sides or facesof the forms 17 and are secured in slightly spaced relation by means ofcords 27 intertwined with respect to the mesh, as illustrated in Fig. 3,and extended through the gaps between the forms 17.

In order to securely brace together the two walls which aresubsequent-ly formed by the application of plastic material to the outerfaces-of the forms and in a manner adapted to form connectionssufficiently elastic to allow the complete wall as a unit to bend oryield without breaking or cracking, I provide between the vertical edgesof adjacent forms transversely disposed strips of webbing 28 whichis'preferably in the form of metal lath. The positioning of thesewebbings is clearly illustrated in Fig. 1, and it will be noted thatthey are of sufficient width to almost completely span the space betweenthe reinforcing elements .26. The type of webbing shown in the drawingsis preferably placed in its position in the forms before the reinforcingelements 26 are placed over both sides of the forms. v

Cement, mortar, or other plastic material, indicated at 29, is nowplastered against the outer faces of the forms 17 and over thereinforcing elements 26 so that, when the material has set, suchelements will be embedded therein to thoroughly reinforce the resultantwall. The plastic material'is applied laterally in such a manner as toform an' even coat over the outer faces of the forms, the material atthe gaps between the forms, because of the beveled edges 19, producingtruncated projections 30 (Fig. 2),l and these projections arecoextensive in height with the 'walls and have the vertical edges of thewebbing strips 28 embedded therein. After the plastic material has beenallowed to set and sufficiently harden, the apparatus can be removedfrom the wall by first withdrawing the nails 25 to allow the removal ofthe pins 22, and then removing the alining members 21. With the latterIremoved, the several.

forms 17 can be lifted from their position between the confrontingvsides of the' wall.

4The resultant structure thus formed is a double wall, the two parts ofwhich are in- "tion which has low cost.

dicated at 31 and 32 in Figs. 2 and 4 and have a continuous `dead-airspace therebetween. It is important to note that in the finished wallthe slabs 31 and 32 have the reinforcing elements totally embeddedtherein so that they are completely covered by the plastic material ofwhich the slabs are formed. In this manner the reinforcing elements areprotected against deterioration, while the slabs themselves are`thoroughly reinforced throughout their entire areas. The strips or 'webmembers 28 serve to connect the slabs 31 and 32 at intervals and in sucha manner as to transmit tension, compression and shearing between theslabs. They also brace the slabs against buckling under load. Inbuilding construction my wall gives absolute insulation against theweather and also giv'es.

are herein called laterally applied layers of 'l plastic material .orplastered slabs to distinguish them from poured or pre-cast slabs. Slabs31 and 32 are also relatively thin slabs. To obtain the advantages ofthe yieldable features of a wall embodying my invention, it isneoessarythat the slabs have such a degree of relative thinness as to besufficiently yieldable to coact with the webbing to rovide resilience toimpact loadings. Such slabs are relativey light and do not cause aslarge dead load stresses in a building structure as thicker walls would.Comparatively low stresses are developed -durin an earthquake on accountof their relatlvely small inertia. The use of very thin slabsaccomplishes the purpose of providing a construc- Slabs of that relativethifness necessary to accomplish the 'aforementioned purposes vof myinvention require bracing such as is afforded by webbing 28 to keep themfrom buckling when required to act as a .reliable compression member ina building wall structure, and such slabs are herein referred to asrelatively thin slabs.

The strips of webbing 28 are transverse members for the purpose ofbracing relatively thin slabs to enable them to take substantially allof the vertical stresses in the wall structure. The slabs' must takethese strpsses ,because the transverse members are Ayieldable topractically allv the stresses exjacent apertures. In the metal lathshown in Figure these elements extend along lines inclined to thehorizontal at an angle of aboutY thirty degrees. If'all the elementsinclined Lacasse o'ne way with respect to the horizontal be consideredas one group and the rest of the elements as the other group, there aretwo groups of spaced apart elements extending along lines transversewith respect to said slabs vand each of these groups is inclineddifferently with respect to the horizontal.

and the webbing between those portions comprises a truss wherein theslabs are the chords of the truss and the elements of the webbing arethe web membersof the truss. The wall is made up of a series of thesetrusses vstanding vertically and being connected by theplastered slabs.l

The effective unsupported -vertical length of one of the slabs in mywall is the length yso 0f a column supported aty the ends only, hav- 1ing the same cross usection as one of the slabs in my wall, and being ofsuch` length as to have the same strength vas the braced slab in mywall. The transverse members eect sufficient bracing of the slabs tocause the effective unsupported vertical length of the slabs to besufficiently small. so that the wall has the potential ability todevelop a substantial portion of the compressive strength of the slabmaterial before failing from vertical stresses.. The materials fromwhich plastered slabs are usually made develop such high compressivestrength that it is l possible to make a comparatively strong wall withthin plastered slabs and light transverse members. 5

llt is important to note that in the webbing 28 shown in Figure 4 thateach of all vertical 'spaced apart cut surfaces.

' spaced intervals, each of said rvertical systems of webbing-havingeach of all vertical cross sections thereof in thespace between saidslabsy characterized. by a plurality of spaced apart cut surfaces. lnthis description it is intended that any monolithic protuberances on theconfronting faces of the slabs be considered as part of the slabs; thatl the cutting planes producing the sections referred to be thosevertical planes which may be passed betweenthe slabs; that the cutsurfaces be the surfaces nfade by a cutting plane9 be in the cuttingplane and be not any surface shown in the section behind the cuttingplane; that there be a vertical space between` cut surfaces in anyvertical alinement; and that such a section can not contain a continuouscut surface which is coextensive in height with the wall. This isadistinction to the prior art in which it was considered necessarytoinclude between plastered `slabs vin building wall construction sometype of pillars or studs which would have one or more of its verticalcross sections rin the space'between the slabs present continuous cutsurfaces coextensive in height with thewall.

By forming openings at different intervals in the pins 22, varying thewidth of the base strip 16, and setting the pegs 18 the desireddistances apart, the apparatus can be ad- ]usted to form al Wall of anydesired thickness. In order to set the forms for any length of wall itwill be necessary, of course, to have forms of which the width may bevaried an amount equal to the width of oneof the forms. A Wall of anyheight which is less than the height of the forms 17 maybe made bydiscontinuing the plastering operation at the desired height. A Wall ofgreater height than the forms can be made by first building a wall withone setting ofthe forms and then placing a base strip similarsto thebase 16 upon the tops of the reinforcing elements.. 26 and building awall on the top of the strip thus set in a manner identical with themethod revio-usly described.

Many di erent materials may be used as tie members in place of thewebbings 28. For example, a studding 33 may be inserted ineach gapkbetween the forms in place of the webbing 28, and the reinforcingelements 26 may be nailed upon the studding so that limi in the completewall the studs will appear as i illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. In thisadaptation the studding may be used to assist in holding and alining theforms. It is obvious that the studding may be erected, the reinjforcement may be placed over them, and the forms may be subsequentlyinserted, this being an obvious variation of my-method.

.ln making a relatively narrow wall, the employment of the Webbings 28lmay not be necessary, because it is possible to force the plasticmaterial through the gaps between the forms and from the outer sides ofthe forms until the material from one side meets that of the other, thusforming'a webbing of plastic material, asv shown in Fig. 7.

Although l have herein shown and de-l scribed various apparatus andwalls embodying my inventiomit is to be understood that `further changesand modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and the spirit .and scope of the appended claims.,

I claim: 1. A double, hollow wall comprising two, relatively thin,laterally appied layers of plasticy materialhaving metallic reinforcingelements totally embedded therein, and a plurality *of yieldable webmembers extendlng edgewise between the layers and having their edgeportions respectively embedded in said layers.

2. A hollow, double wall comprising two reinforced sl abs,'and tiemembers extending i edgewise between the slabs and integrally said webmembers being of an elastic nature so as toallow the wall to yieldsidewise in the neighborhood of the point ,of application of an impactstress, and consequently enabling the result of the impact to betransmitted over, and to be resisted by, the whole wall.

5. A wall comprising spaced slabs of plas- -tic material, and webmembers at horizontally spaced intervals edgewise between the slabs,said web members being of an elastic nature so as to allow the wall toyield sidewise in the neighborhood of the point of application of animpact stress, and consequently enabling the result of the impact lto.be transmitted over, and to be resisted by,l

the whole wall, said web members being coextensive in height with theslabs.

6. A wall, as embodied in claim 4, wherein the members consist ofk metalwebbing.

7; A wall comprising spaced slabs of plastic material having metallicreinforcing elements therein and truncated protuberances atcorresponding points on the confronting sides thereof, and expanded,yieldable and metallic members having their edge portions respectivelyembedded in the protuberances and connecting correspondingprotuberances.

8. A wall, as embodied in claim 7, wherein the protuberances and membersare co-extensive in height-With the slabs.

9.`A hollow, double wall comprising plas-v tered slabs having metallicreinforcing elements totally embedded therein, and a plurality ofyieldable web members having edge poigsions thereof respectivelyembedded in the sla s.

10. A bearing wall comprising spaced, parallel, plastered slabsproviding the outside surfaces of the wall, and vertical strips ofexpanded and yieldable metal lath having the edge portions thereofrespectively embedded in the slabs and transmitting all sidewise stressbetween the slabs.

11. A hollow, double wall comprising two reinforced slabs, eachincluding a relatively thin layer, and a metallic reinforcing elementwholly embedded therein; and yieldable web members placed edgewisebetween the slabs and integrally united therewith at their respectiveedge portions in order to hold the slabs ina definite, spaced relationto each other, thus laterally bracing the slabs and distributing thestress over the wall.

12. A supporting wall comprised-of two vertical, spaced-apart,confronting, monolithic, relatively thin slabs and transverse membersconnecting the slabs, said transverse members transmitting stressesbetween the slabs to brace the slabs laterally with respect to eachother to effect resistance to buckling of the slabs, said transversemembers being yieldable to other stresses in the wall structure to causethe slabs to take substantially all of the vertical stresses in the wallstructure.

13. A supporting wall comprised of two vertical, spaced-apart,confronting plastered slabs and vertical systems of webbing connectingsaid slabs at spaced intervals and each of said vertical systems ofwebbing having groups of spaced-apart elements extending along linestransverse with respect to said slabs and having each of said groupsinclined differently with respect to the horizontal to cause the wall toact as a series of connected vertical trusses.

14.. A supporting wall comprising two spaced, relatively thin plasteredslabs and transverse members connecting the slabs; said transversemembers being adapted to brace laterally one slab against the other sothat the effective unsupported vertical length of the slab thus bracedis suliciently small so that the wall will have the potential ability todevelop a substantial portion of the compressive strength of the slabmaterial before failing from vertical stresses. v

15. A supporting wall comprising two vertical, spaced-apart, confrontingplastered slabs and vertical sheets of transverse matrial connectingsaid slabs and each sheet having each of all vertical cross sectionsthereof in the space between the slabs characterized by a plurality lofspaced-apart cut surfaces.

16. A supporting wall comprised of two vertical, spaced-apart,confronting plastered necting said slabs at spaced intervals and each ofsaid vertical systems of webbing having each of all vertical crosssections'thereof in the space vbetween said slabs characterifzed by aplurality of spaced-apart cut suraces.

`slabs and vertical systems of webbing conconstruction and `saidvertical systems of webbing having such yieldability to vertical loads'as to cause the slabs to take substantially all of the verticalstresses in the wall structure.

18. In building construction, a supporting wall structure comprised oftwo vertical, spaced-apart, confronting plastered slabs; monolithicprotuberances on confronting faces of the respective slabs; andtransverse members connecting protuberances on one slab with theprotuberances on the other slab, said transverse members being adaptelto coact with the protuberances and the slabs to prevent the wall fromcollapsing when sub'- jected to vertical loads i'n building constructionand said transverse members having such flexibility to vertical loads asto cause the slabs and said protuberances to take substan-` tially allof the vertical stresses in the Wall structure.

19. In building construction, a supporting wall structure comprised oftwo vertical, spaced-apart, confronting plastered slabs; portions ofplastic material integral with one slab; portions of plastic materialintegral with the other slab and spaced from the-first said portions ofplastic material; and trans'- verse members interposed between the slabsand each of said transverse members having a portion thereof embedded inone of the first said portions of plastic material and another portionthereof` embedded in one of the second said portions of plasticmaterial, said transverse members belng adapted to coact with the saidportions of plastic material and the slabs to prevent the Wall fromcollapsing when subjected to vertical loads in building construction andsaid transverse members having such flexibility to vertical loads as tocause the slabs and said portions of plastic material to takesubstantially all of the ver. tical stresses in the wall structure.

20, A supporting wall comprised of two vertical, spaced-apart,confronting plastered slabs, monolithic protuberances on confrontingfaces of the respective slabs; and vertical systems of webbingconnecting protuberances integral with the other slab and spaced fromthe first said portions of plastic material; and' vertical systems ofwebbing connecting the first said portions of plastic material with thesecond sald portions of plastic material and each of said verticalsystems of webbing having each of all vertical cross sections thereof inthe space between said slabs characterized by a plurality of verticallyspaced-apart cut surfaces. Y',

Signed at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, this 14th day of February, A. D. 1928,

NEAL GARRETT.

on one slab with the protuberances on the f other slab and each'of saidvertical systems y of webbin having each of all vertical cross. sectionst ereof in the space between said` slabs characterized bya plurality ofvertical- 1y spaced-apart cut surfaces.-

21. A supporting wall comprised of two vertical, spaced-a art,confronting plastered slabs, portions o plastic'material integral withone slab; portions of plastic material

